Peters



s sheets-smet 1.

(Nq'ModeL) P. J. WEISS. 5 MULTIPLE EFFECT APPARATUS.

No. 371,809. Patented Oct. 18, 1887.

Innen/Z021 Mae N. PETERS, PhubLilhogmpher, washington. D. C,

(No Modem' 3 sheets-sheet 2.

1". J. WEISS.

MULTIPLE EPPECT APPARATUS. No. 371,809. Patented Oct. 18, 18.87.

N. Patins, Pham-Limngmphor, wismngwn, n.0,

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

F. J WEISS.

MULTIPLE EEEEGT APPARATUS.

No. 371,809. Patented Oct. 18, 1887.

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| x l l 1 v l l I v |11 lia Xl'xlllll N` PETKRS, Fholwulhugrapher, washington, D, c.

Miren Marne Baresi* risica,

FRANZ .I'OSEPI-I VEISS, OF BASLE, SWITZERLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE SANGEBHUSEN AOTIEN-MASOHINENFABBIK EAND EISENGIES- SEBEI, VORM. HOBNUNG di BABE, OF SANGERHUSEN, GERMANY.

MULTIPLE-EFFECT APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,809, dated October 18, 1887.

Application filed December 13, 1886. Serial No. 221,454. (No model.) Patented in Belgium November 24, 1886, No. 75,354; in France November 24, 1886, No. 179,861; in England November 25, 1886, No. 15,400; in Germany November 26, 1.886, No. 40,421, and in Austria-Hungary April 29, 1887, No. 46,521 and No. 11,414.

T @ZZ whom. t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANZ JOSEPH WEISS, of the city of Basle, in the canton of Basle and Republic of Switzerland, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Distilling or Evaporating Apparatus, (for which I have obtained patents in Germany, dated November 26, 1886, No. 40,421; in England, dated November 25, 1886, No. 15,400; in France, dated Io November 24, 1886, No. 179,861; in Belgium, dated November 24, 1886, No. 75,354, and in Austria-Hungary, dated April 29, 1887, No. 46,521 and No. 11,414,) of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to improved multipleeffect or distilling apparatuses for evaporating liquids under apartial vacuum,` as applied in sugar and chemical manufactories, saltworks, and the like, such apparatuses of multiple eiliect consisting, as is well known, of a number of evaporating chambers connected with each other by a system of pipes and arranged in line in such a manner that only the first evaporating-chamber is heated by steam taken either direct from some boiler or from the exhaust of an engine, while the second evaporatingchamber is in turn heated bythe 3o vapors generated in the first chamber, the said vapors being made to pass through the heating-pipes of the second chamber, and so on, the vapors of each successive chamber` heating the contents of each adjacent chamber until the vapors of the last of the series of evaporatingchambers are ultimately collected in a` condenser in which the requisite vacuum is produced and maintained by means ofan airpump, and in which the said vapors are ulti- 4o mately condensed.

In order to cause the vapors generated in each previous chamber to heat and to evaporate the contents of each successive chamber, it is necessary that the vapors being generated in one chamber should in each case have a higher temperature than that of the liquid to be evaporated in the next chamber; or, in other words, a successive descent or decrease of temperature should prevail inleach successive chamber, so as to cause the contents of 5o each distinct evaporating-chamber to be evaporated. Since, however, the pressure under which a liquid commences to boil always bears a fixed physical relation to the temperature of such liquid, it is also necessary to provide for a successive descent, decrease, or diminution of pressure from one evaporating-chamber to the next, or in each successive chamber. This successive decrease of pressure-and hence, also, of temperature-was heretofore always 6o secured by different means, oneiof which consisted of a certain style of pumps-for instance, by so-called vaporpumps*by means of which the water of condensation, together with the air, Was sucked out of the heating-pipes of the several chambers, while in other cases special receivers for the pipes of the several chambers were provided and connected in a peculiar manner with the main air-pump and condenser, and so on. 7o

y Now, the object of this present invention is to provide novel means for producing and automatically maintaining the said successive decrease of pressure and temperature 'in each successive chamber of a series in a controllable manner, and without resorting for the purpose to any pumps or receivers or similar devices.

This invention therefore consists in a peculiar and novel arrangement of pipes according to simple hydrostatic principles, the action 8o of the said improvement being at the same time such that the water of condensation being formed within the heating-pipes of the several evaporating chambers is automatically and continuously led off or carried away, and may, if desired, be collected separately.

In order to render the principle of the said invention more clearly understood, the same will now be described, :reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of 9c this specification, and in which- Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, are vertical sectional views showing the principle of the said invention as applied in different modified forms to the improved apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, suppose S to designate a vertical (or inclined) straight (or bent) standpipe communicating at the top with a closed chamber, C, and on one side, by means of the pipe D, also communicating with thelikewise closed chamber V, the lower end of the standpipe S to be immersed in Water. At first all the pipes, chambers, and connections are lled with air of mean atmospheric pressure down to the water-level F G. By connecting the short pipe E with a suitable'air-pump air is then sucked out of chamber C through the said short pipe E. The air throughout the entire system of pipes and connections is thereby rarefied, and, yielding to the pressure of the outer atmosphere, water will rise in the Astandpipe S. After the rarefaction of air, which is the same in all the spaces V, D, S, and C, has reached a certain degree corresponding to the absolute pressure p', we will suppose the water-level in the stand-pipe S to have risen as farv above the original water-level F G as the vertical height h', so as just to close the mouth of the branch pipe D. 'If the rare- -faction of air in chamber C isstill further increased, then the pressure in chamber C will be still further decreased until it reaches, say, the pressure p, and the water inthe stand'- pipe VS will rise still higher-say as far as the heighthabove the original water-level. Water will thereby not be caused to enter the chamber V, this being prevented by the pressure of airprevailing therein. Thus, in rarefyingthe air in chamber C still further the pressure p in chamber V will not be changed, but will remain at its standard p. This air-pressure p is equal to the pressure of the column of Water h h plus the (air) pressure p, and the total of both of the last-named pressures plus the pressure of the column of water h is in turn equal to the pressure of the outer atmosphere. Therefore this press urep is equal to the pressure of the outer at mosphere minus the pressure of the column of water h-that is to say, always presuming the 'pressure of the outer atmosphereto remain constant, the pressure p will likewise always 'remain constant when the height h remains constant, no matter whether the rarefaction of air in chamber C is carried on to any extent 'or the pressure p is reduced as far as desired, it' only p has once' become smaller than p.

A It has been shown that after the waterlevel in the stand-pipe S has once risen above the height h the pressure p will not be reduced any further, even when air is continually pumped out of chamber C. If, on the other hand, air is allowed to enter the chamber V by opening the small cock T, Fig. 2, this also will not cause the pressure p/ to rise, as the air thus admitted simply passes under the lowest downwardly-projecting vertex ofthe connection between pipe S and chamber V and then rises in the stand-pipe S inthe shape of bubbles, as shown in Fig. 2, and is ultimately sucked away by the air-pump acting at the point E. The essential point from which the height h must be calculated downwardly is always the lowest situated downwardly-projecting vertex of the connection between the chamber V and the stand-pipe S.

It is evident that the constant pressure p depends solely upon the height h being properly chosen. If it should be desired to change the said pressure p' while the apparatus is in operation,it will only be required to change the height ofthe column of water h. This may be effected by a number of mechanical mea'ns, which are readily understood by those acquainted with the art. The simplest way is to make the height of the water-level adjustable, either by constructing the vessel in which the lower end of the stand-pipe is immersed adjustable as to its height, by suspending it on movable chains, as in Fig. 5, or by making this vessel stationary and providing means for regulating the height of the overow, and thus also raising and lowering the water-level F G, as shown in Fig. 3. A raising of the water-level` F G causes a rise in the absolute pressure p', and consequently also a rise of the boiling temperature of a liquid contained in chamber V, while a lowering of the water-level F G is followed by the opposite effect.

The application of the principle forming the basis of this invention to evaporating apparatuses is shown in the subsequent gures of the drawings.

Fig. 8 shows an evaporating apparatus of double effect. The original heating-steam is introduced in the evaporating chamber I through the pipe O, in which it communicates its heat to the liquid to be evaporated therein by means of the sides of the said pipe, in the present instance shown in the shape ofa serpentine. The water of condensation thereby being formed in thesaid heating-pipes is removed in a suitable manner at P. The vapors generated in the evaporating-chamber 1 are by means of pipe Q introduced into the evaporatingchamber I, where theyin turn cause the liquid therein to boil, the water of condensation here forming in the heating-tubes, together with any steam that may not have been condensed yet, aud,with air that may have entered through leaks,passes into the stand-pipe S through pipe D, the said pipe S corresponding exactly to the stand-pipe S, already described with reference to Figs. l and 2. The distilled water ows down in pipe S and is discharged at M, where it may be collected to be used for other purposes. The air entering the stand-pipe S at s bubbles up in the same and passesinto thecondenser through the pipes L and W, whence it is sucked away by the air-pump acting at the point E. Any steam that may not have been condensed also enters the stand-pipe at s,whence it rises in the shape of bubbles, being thus partly'condensed yet, and is ultimatelyalso carried into the condenser through L and W, being there further condensed. The vapors generated in chamber I are introduced into the condenser C through the pipe W, the said condenser being supplied with cooling-water from pipe R, and an air` IOO `is greater than It.

pump being connected at E, which produces the required vacuum in the said condenser and all parts communicating therewith. The condenser here shown is constructed on the principle of the common siphon, in which the warm water is automatically sucked away through pipe A (of more than ten meters in height) and discharged at N, so that the airpump at E has nothing but gases (air and a little Water-steam) to suck away, and may therefore be a dry-air pump. It may be stated here that for the purposes of this invention it is not at all necessary to havejust this kind of condenser with Siphon-pipe; but any other kind of condenser with a so called wet-air pump, which sucks away from the condenser both air and warm water, will also answerthe purpose. In this case, as well, it will simply be necessary to connect the upper part oi' the stand-pipe S with the condenser by means of a tube, L.

It isevident, after what has been previously stated, that in the arrangement here shown in diagram and principle vonly the pressure p in the second chamber I must be less than the pressure p in the first chamber I, since h It follows that the temperature t in the first chamber' must be higher than that, t, in the second chamber, and therefore the liquid in the second chamber may indeed be brought to boiling` by the vapors from the said lirst chamber. As long as the height h is left unchanged the pressure p (and hence also the temperature t) will remain constant, and it makes no diderence whether h may vary toany extent so long as it only `becomes less than h. l

In such cases where it is not found of importance to suck up the distilled water (or water of condensation) from the heating-pipes separately, and where at the same time the condenser ofthe distilling apparatus is one of the kind which discharges its water by means of a barometrical water-drop pipe, the separate stand-pipe S may be dispensed with and the end of the serpentine pipes-that is to say, the pipe D-may communicate directly with the said droppipe A of the condenser, as shown in Fig. 4, the distilled water in this case being discharged at N, together with the warm water in the condenser, while the air and such vapors as may not have been condensed rise in the said pipe A, passing thence into the condenser in the same manner as previousl y described with reference to the standpipe S.

In the same manner as in evaporating or distilling apparatuses of double effect the principle of this invention'may also be applied in apparatuses of triple, quadruple, and quintuple etfect, tc.

Fig. isa diagram showing the arrangement as applied to an apparatus of quadruple eii'ect.

To render Fig. 5 at once understood it only remains to be added that U designates the cold-water pump, X the air-pump, C the condenser, and Y a pump for lconveying the distilled water collected in a sort of cistern to the respective places where it is to be used; furthermore, that Z designates a steam-trap ior removing the water of condensation from the rst serpentine heating-pipe, which may have been fed with steam of a higher than atmospheric pressure. By connecting the ends of the several heating-coils by pipes D D2 D3 with the stand-pipe at the heights h h h3 above the lower water-level, M, the reduced pressures p' p2 p3, and thus thereduced boiling temperatures t t2 i, are obtained in the several evaporatingchambers as the latter follow upon each other, thus also providing for the required diminution of temperature from one evaporating-chamber to the other. lf, now, the heights h h2 h3 are changed, say, by raising or lowering the overliow-vessel M, in which the lower end of the standpipe S is immersed, then the pressures p p2 p3, and hence, also, the boiling temperatures t t2 t3 in the rst three evaporating chan1bers,will be changed in accordance therewith. The pressure p and the boiling temperature in the last chamber will not be influenced thereby, provided that the action of the air-pump and condenser remain unchanged,and the height 7L' in theA stand-pipe will likewise remain unchanged. rlhe upper water-level in the standpipe S is raised and lowered in exactly the same manner as the lower water-level at M.

If all the pipes D D2 D3, as shown in the diagram Fig. 5, com mn nicate with the same standpipe S, any change of one ofthe three heights h h2 71,3, in consequence of a rising or lowering of the overflow-vessel M, will also cause a change in the two remaining heights. In order to make each of the three heights 7L h2 h3 adjustable or capable of being regulated or changed independently of the two others, and thereby to make each of the th ree boiling temperatures t' t2 i.3 variable in accordance therewith, it would be necessary to let each of the three pipes D D2 D3 discharge into a separate stand-pipe, each of these stand-pipes in turn being connected with a condenser at the top and immersed in water below. If desired, such an arrangement would also allow of not only collecting the distilled water per se, but even the distilled water from each system of heating-coils of each evaporating chamber separately.

Again,ifin applying the arrangement shown in principle in Fig. 5 it should not be considered of importance to have the quantities of distilled water sucked away separately, then the stand-pipe S might be dispensed with, the pipes D Dlz D3 in such case being made to discharge directly into the pipe A of the condenser, as previously shown in Fig. 4.

Oi' course it is understood that what has been said above with regard to an apparatus of quadruple effect also applies to any other apparatus of multiple effect with the necessary alterations, as will be readilyvunderstood, and requires no further explanation.

Having fully described my invention, what IIO I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. isi l. The combination, with the stand-pipe open at its lower end, a water-chamber communicating with the latter, a condensing chamber, C, connected with the upper end of .the stand-pipe, and a pump. for creating a vacuum in said chamber and stand pipe, of

an upwardlyinclined pipe, D, joined to the `stand-pipe at a point below the condensingchamber and into the lower portion of which inclined pipe water from the stand-pipe enters, and a heating-chamber connected with said inclined pipe, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination, in an evaporating apparatus,of a standpipe having an open lower enda water-.chamber with which said open end communicates, a series of connected heating-chambers, a pipe extending` laterally from the stand-pipe and connected with the lower part of one heating-chamber, and a condensing-chaniber, G, in communication with the heating-chambers and the stand-pipe and having means to connect with an air exhauster,

substantially as described.

3. The combination, in an evaporating-apparatushof the water-chamber, the stand-pipe having its lower end in communication with said chamber, a series of heatingchambers 3o having heatingpipes leading from their lower portions and connected with the stand-pipe at di'erent heights, the condensing-chamber in communication with all the heating-chambers and with the stand-pipe, and an air pump 35 water supply, a-series of heating-chambers,an 4o inclined pipe connecting the lower portion of one heating-chamber with the side of the standpipe, a condensing-chamber in communication with-the upper parts of a heating-chamber and the stand-pipe, and an air-exhauster for 45 creating a vacuum in the condensing chamber and stand-pipe and lifting a column of water in the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofl have signed my name to this application inthe presence of two sub` 5o scribing witnesses.

FRANZ JOSEPHNVEISS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE GIFFORD, GHS. A. RICHTER. 

